Strange and lovely things have drifted Through the fingers of the wind, And when winter's snows have lifted From my garden, I shall find, Hidden in unwonted places, Wandering columbine and rue; Other unfamiliar faces, Poppies, in their motley hue, And in dark, forgotten corner, Ferns uncurl a single frond. One forget-me-not, a tiny mourner, Weeps into the brimming pond. So in my heart, long forgotten and covered deep, Memories awake, and stir within me, Passions I had thought alseep. Eagerness of youth, returning; A heart so light and footstep free, And all the bitter futile yearning For the higher ecstasy That only youth may suffer lightly... I, who ate of wisdom's tree, And with tears, watered its fruit nightly, Now do clearly see many things of beauty hidden In the odd corners of my heart Springing up, all unbidden With calculated and consummate art Filling all the barren spaces That life left, as it passed me by... In my heart's wild garden, these unfamiliar faces Comfort me, under the young spring sky. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ALASTOR; OR, THE SPIRIT OF SOLITUDE by PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY RENEWAL by GLADYS NAOMI ARNOLD NATALIA'S RESURRECTION: 10 by WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT THE SMACK RACE by JOHN GARDINER CALKINS BRAINARD AT RICHMOND by WILLIAM ALLEN BUTLER |